Monthly Archives: February, 2015

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Witness the burning of the Biebs
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You don’t have to look far to find a joke about Justin Bieber. Just about everyone has dropped a line about the tantrum-prone singer. And given the enjoyment people derive from laughing at the expense of the baby-faced one, Comedy Central has organised an official roast of the Biebs.

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Vodafone’s separated lovers Christmas spot takes Colmar Brunton Ad Impact Award
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Since launching its ‘Do your thing better’ brand a few years back, Vodafone has generally looked for laughs rather than warm fuzzies (although it managed to tug a few heartstrings with its Warriors stunt on mother’s day). But it decided to focus on the emotional power of connection for its Christmas push and it’s taken Colmar Brunton’s Ad Impact Award for its efforts.

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More data: MPA works with Nielsen to gauge magazine engagement levels
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The radio industry isn’t alone in this bid to provide more accurate information to clients. Recently, the Magazine Publishers Association (MPA) announced the launch of a new Nielsen-provided methodology that quantifies the total audience potential (TAP) of a magazine by incorporating pick-ups into magazine reach and frequency schedules.

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Good night for Clemenger Group at NZDM Awards as JustOne/.99 wins Grand Prix and Colenso BBDO/Proximity collects 11 golds
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Last night, the New Zealand Direct Marketing Awards again celebrated the best examples of direct marketing in the industry. And it proved quite a fruitful night for the Clemenger Group as JustOne/.99 and Colenso BBDO/Proximity walked away with impressive hauls. PLUS: JustOne/.99 managing partner Amy Watson breaks her toe during over-zealous celebration.

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Selling the sausage—and the sizzle: Polkinghorne’s Bangerritos hit local grills, look set for global expansion
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Typically, agency folk harness their creativity to help clients’ businesses. But occasionally that creativity is put towards their own projects. And that’s exactly what globally recognised young creative and burrito aficionado Ben Polkinghorne has done with the Bangerrito, a burrito-flavoured sausage that’s made its way onto a few high end supermarket shelves and, all going to plan, might soon be seen in other markets.

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Time is of the essence for the Wall St Journal
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In an age of media plenty, traditional business news outlets have never had so much competition. Being deemed essential is a good plan to counter that. And the Wall St Journal is backing itself. So it’s got a few big, successful names—producer/entrepreneur will.i.am, SAP chief executive Bill McDermott and fashion designer Tory Burch—to show that no matter how busy they are, they make time to read it.

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ASB shows you your disappointing substitute in bid to flog life insurance to under-insured Kiwis
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ASB and Saatchi & Saatchi NZ have previously shown their prowess for Facebook campaigns through the hugely successful ‘Like Loan’ iniative, and the pair have now returned to the platform. But rather than focusing on home loans, the latest campaign aims to convince Kiwis to take up life insurance. The new campaign takes the form of a survey in a series of questions that aim to determine if you’re replaceable.

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An edible wearable
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Have you ever just loved a piece of technology so much that you want to eat it? Probably not, but now you have the option, because Dole Japan has created an edible, wearable, smart banana. Yes, you heard correctly.

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MasterCard survey: Kiwis warming to digital wallets, but security fears continue
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With innovations in digital payment methodologies, our society is becoming increasingly cashless. And, according to a new Mastercard survey, Kiwis are slowly becoming okay with that, with many starting to warm up to the idea of digital wallets. The survey of shopping habits showed 75 percent of New Zealanders regularly shop online and two thirds are open to the idea of using a digital wallet.

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Rise of the machines: Haydn Kerr on being a creative in a digital world
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Digital is no longer the siloed side project that’s only tapped into if there’s enough budget left over. It’s now an integral part of the comms strategy of most major brands, and its prominence is only becoming stronger as the online audience grows. To investigate the changing face of digital, StopPress has launched ‘Rise of the machines’, a new series in which we chat to few brains in the industry about how the channel is evolving. First up is DDB’s digital creative director Haydn Kerr.

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TVNZ invites viewers to join the legal defence team via ‘How to get away with murder’ game
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For those of you who have longed to put yourselves in the shoes of a criminal defence lawyer, now you can, in the digital world at least. TV2 has launched a new campaign in the form of an online game to promote its show How to Get Away with Murder, through the release of a murder mystery game that casts the player as part of a criminal defence team fighting to clear a client’s name.

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Demystifying programmatic
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As revealed by the recent stats released by TubeMogul, programmatic ad-buying is growing very quickly. But, as with anything new, the willingness of advertisers to adopt this approach has been slower than it could’ve been due to the fact that it seems quite complicated. So, in an effort to demystify programmatic ad buying and thereby encourage more media agencies and marketers to adopt it, Chango has released a series of videos that address some of the questions that have been raised by those in the industry.

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Spark hooks up with Putti, offers SMEs 24 months’ access to mobile-responsive website services
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According to Spark Home, Mobile and Business chief executive Chris Quin, fewer than 40 percent of small businesses have a website. And of those that do, only a quarter have a website that’s mobile responsive. So, in an effort to remedy this problem, Spark has released new promotion that offers business customers 24 months’ access to a Putti mobile-responsive website.

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Forced facelifts
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Sometimes unfortunate or unforseen circumstances arise, which means that brands, for better or for worse, need to change their names. We thought we’d look at a few examples closer to home and further afield.

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Expedia once again showcases the joy of travel/drudgery of modern life with ‘where’s your somewhere?’ campaign
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The travel industry has been one of the sectors most affected by the rise of e-commerce, with customers increasingly doing their booking of flights, hotels, trips, rental cars and transfers online. Expedia, the world’s largest online travel site in terms of booking volumes, is at the forefront of that shift and, as part of its ‘Out There Starts Here’ campaign, it’s created a number of great ads for the New Zealand and Australian market. Now it’s launched another one that sees the travel dreams of several characters become a reality.

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Ford continues the Hilux bashing with its own monobrowed weather man
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Last year, Toyota used its sponsorship deal with One Weather in a creative way by getting the pie-loving protagonist from its Hilux advertising to reprise his role, introduce the daily report and somehow tie it in to the vehicle. Now, following Ford’s Ranger sales victory in the ute category last year, the first time in 32 years the Hilux hasn’t been atop the podium, it’s created its own hirsute weatherman to rub it in.

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Rappin’ gifts
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Spark, nee Telecom’s, Giganaire was a pretty polarising campaign, as most ads involving rapping generally are. And Pak n Save’s comical frontman has riffed on that in his inimitable style for its latest promotion by asking punters if they will become the next ‘Giftcardionaire’.

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Deadly consequences
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Now, if we had seen an ad, say 10 years ago that said “don’t selfie and drive” no one would have had a clue what that was about. But with new technology (and front-facing cameras) comes new dangers, and now Volkswagen has released a campaign which aims to stop drivers taking selfies while on the road.

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True straps itself in with AJ Hackett, hits 30 staff
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2014 was a good year for True, with its business growing to four times that of the previous year after developing new working relationships with Vodafone, ANZ (including the current Dream Big campaign), Four Square and Mission Estate Wineries. And now it’s added another client: AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand.

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